


Coming Full Circle, Back to You.

by orphan_account



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - School, Angst, Former Friends, M/M, Maybe some Romance, who knows at this point - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 21:36:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5642827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You kissed me on the playground the day before you moved away in the 4th grade and now your dorm is right across the hall from mine” AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blast from the Past

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write this because I like torturing myself tbh. Probably at least 1-2 more chapters. I love drawing things out, so we'll see. Hope you all like it.

Dan was excited and scared to move to university. It was going to be strange going to a different country, especially one so far away. He had gotten four offers, only one friend had gotten more than him. He knew he shouldn’t have applied to so many but he wanted to get one with the best financial package, even if it was the school in England that provided that. Flying all the way from Australia was going to be hard. He wasn’t going to know anyone, at least he thought he wasn’t going to know anyone until he logged onto facebook that morning before doing last minute stuff, he was due to leave in just three days.

Jean-Eric was his former best friend that had moved away in the middle of year four because his dad had gotten a different job. The Vergnes were a French family that had moved into Dan’s neighborhood before the start of pre-school. For year three and four Jean-Eric wanted to be called Jev, to shorten his name and it had just started to stick by the time he had moved away.

Dan was curious about some of the people he was going to be in the Applied Engineering problem with. He was going to be spending 3 years with these people; it was natural to be curious, at least that’s how he justified his joining the first year group on facebook. He had joined it last week, when he had gotten his school email activated and hadn’t really done much on it besides introducing himself in a post and gotten some likes and one or two comments, that was fine until the notification came up when he logged in this morning. With getting everything together, he hadn’t had a lot of time to get on his social media accounts.

“Jean-Eric Vergne liked your post in first year applied engineering students group.” It was amazing; nothing had gotten his heart rate up like this in years. Dan exercised of course, but this was something else. It made him think of what happened the week Jev moved.

After school they would always take the bus or walk home, since they lived a few houses away from each other. The year before and that year they were allowed to do that, their respective parents thought they were finally old enough, and since they were doing it together, it had been a lot of fun. Dan thought a lot about some of the things they got into after school; he looked back with fond memories. There was one in particular that he never really gotten over.

They had gotten out of school early that day, on a Friday, running home from the bus with the excitement of having extra time added to their regular weekend time. Their plans were to drop their backpacks at their houses and meet at their favorite park that was a 15-minute walk from where they lived. It was one of those great parks that the whole community was involved in, there was always something going on.

Dan remembers with a strange clarity how nice it was that day. Nothing was different than it usually was. There was no premonition as to what was going to happen. They played like they normally did. They hit the swings, checked out both a couple of different balls, moving around the park to different areas when they got bored of each section. Their usual time of being home still stood, with school letting out, they had an extra 2 hours on their hands.

Dan can see those moments in his mind’s eye. “Want to take a different trail home?” Jev asks as they turn out of the front of the park. While his parents were very French and still sounded like they lived there, Jev only had a small French lilt in his voice. Dan loved it; it made his best friend sound exotic. “Sure man.”

They walk home, bumping shoulders. Dan realizes that he’s seen the opening to this trail before, but didn’t want to go down it, without Jev. It’s nice and shaded, on a hot day in November it’s nice to be out of the sun. They’re both quiet, it’s something that different from both of their other friends, neither of them feel that constant need to talk, they’re comfortable with each other. Pulling Dan off the path under a huge tree, Jev sits down against the trunk. Dan plops down next him.

“Do you like anyone?” Jev is looking straight ahead as he asks this. They had talked about the girls in their year plenty of times. Dan wasn’t sure why Jev was asking when they had just talked about this same topic a few days again. “Not right now.” Dan looks at Jev. Jev turns, grabs the front of Dan’s shirt for a quick kiss, a bit wet and sloppy, before Dan can react Jev has dropped the fistful of shirt, gotten up and run off on the path.

After a few moments, Dan gets up and runs after him. Yelling: “Jev wait.” He just couldn’t catch up; with a bit of a head start and Jev being faster, Dan is always enough behind to only hear Jev’s feet. Right as he gets 2 houses away from Jev’s he hears their front door slam.

Dan hadn’t heard from Jev until that Monday at school. Or rather he heard from the teacher that the Vergnes were moving back to France. Dan had been devastated and still was devastated about the whole thing. He had been torn up about it for so long that he never tried to get in touch with Jev, didn't even try to look him up on facebook or twitter or any other type of social media. The best thing to come out of it was that it had made him realize that he liked both men and women. He was excited about going to university, since he wouldn’t have to worry as much about trying to date people as he was at home. Sure, there were still some things he had to worry about in the dating world, but with how isolating Perth could be, he was ready to leave.

Hearing his mom calling him from down the hall, Dan quickly closes the internet browser and then his laptop. There was still a lot to do, a few people to visit and then getting ready for the flight in the next few days. He’d message Jev when he got to the freshman week of orientation. He got to move in a day early to the dorm he was placed in, due to being an extra far international student. “Coming mom.” Dan says loudly, getting up from his desk chair.


	2. What to Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan is anxious about what to say in a facebook message to Jev.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably do one more chapter. This is more like a bridge for the next part (or two). I'm very long winded, obviously. I guess I just like setting things up. Thanks for all the kudos so far, I'm glad you guys like it.

The flight itself wasn’t as bad as previous ones Dan had been on. His family regularly took vacations at Christmas to see their family in Italy. Going to England was only a little bit longer. What was worse about this flight was the added anxiety of seeing Jev after so long. Was he still the same? Or had he changed a lot? Or did he fall somewhere in the middle?

Thankfully there was someone from the university to meet him, someone who had to oversee 2-4 international kids for the first few months, to make sure their transition went well enough. Dan was thankful for that because that meant he couldn’t turn into a shut in, at least until later if he wanted to.

Dan’s person was a guy named Luke, who was from Ireland. Luke took him to his dorm, helped him get his two large suitcases and backpack into his room, gave him the passwords for the internet and told Dan that he was meeting friends for dinner in an hour and that Dan was welcome to come along.

This gave Dan just enough time to shower, thank gods for small favors in having a single with small bathroom in it; he’d just have to share a kitchen with 5 others. He’d think about what to send Jev over dinner.

Walking up the path that led back to his dorm, Dan stopped at a cluster of benches in between the three on campus dorms. Sitting down, he wanted to take a minute to look around. Looking up at one of the dorms that weren’t his, he realized he could see into some of the rooms, the ones that had lights on and still had their blinds open. There was one in particular that caught his eye.

There was a man with light brown hair, a bit of stubble and a familiar look on his face. Dan realized it was exactly what Jev would look like, at 19. Dan had to send that message now, there was no doubt that Jev feel into what Dan liked physically. Getting up and trying not to speed walk back to his room, Dan realized some of his anxiety was going away. It’s not like they lived in the same dorm.

There was enough space between where they lived if that things went less than good, there wouldn’t be a problem. Dan could make friends, no matter what Jev said back to him. Unlocking the door to the flat, Dan saw a TV and a few items were in the kitchen, one of the other guys must have brought a bit of stuff in while Dan was out at dinner. He’d only looked up two of the five people he was living with for the next year; there was probably another international student.

Opening his computer he wanted to confirm that who he saw was actually Jev and not someone he thought was Jev. Thankfully the passwords for the internet worked and Dan got down to business. Going into his facebook notifications, he clicked on Jev’s name.

Dan had been right, it was Jev, and Jev looked great. Dan didn’t realize how much time he had spent until he heard a knock on his half opened door. “You’re Dan right? I’m Aaron.” Dan looks up to find an average looking guy, obviously from the United States. Getting up to shake hands, Dan responds, “Yeah, I was out at dinner, looks like you’ve been shopping.”

“Yeah, my mom wanted to come over with me for a few days. She’s trying to get over her clinginess. I only let her buy the TV, I saved up for everything else.” Aaron laughs a little as he says this. “Another guy is getting her tomorrow and the rest of them the next day, so do you want to go out tomorrow afternoon or something? Do some shopping or sight seeing? You’re probably tired.”

Dan laughs before sitting back down in his desk chair, his dad had been right, Americans did talk a lot. “Yeah, I want to unpack a little. I did my best to stay up and battle the jet lag, but I’ll probably sleep late and unpack a little. I’ll bother you in the morning yeah?” Dan hadn’t realized it was pushing 11 pm. He needed to send that message to Jev, pull on something to sleep in and crash.

“Sure thing. My mom did get a bit of food, so help yourself when you get up.” Aaron does a little half way before leaving. So far, Dan liked him, but he knew it was only the first meeting, and it hadn’t been that long.

Turning back to his computer, Dan hits the “Send Message” button on Jev’s page. “Hey, it’s been ages. I saw you liked my introduction post on the school page. I almost want to do that with you. What dorm are you in? I’m in Ashford. I got here today and it’s a lot to take in. Hope to hear from you soon.” Not leaving his name, since the message was obviously from him, Dan closes the window. He’d check his email and other things in the morning.

His mom had packed some sheets and a light blanket, but Dan knew he’d have to buy another one soon. England got a lot colder than Australia; he couldn’t bank on having someone else in the bed with him all the time. At least not yet.


	3. At Last!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan finally hears from Jev.

The next day Dan didn’t get a chance to check his facebook, other than the five minutes he spent after getting out of the shower. He and Aaron had spent the day exploring the city, some of the campus and shopping. Aaron had downplayed how much his mom had bought, which was good for Dan. He had ordered some things too but they would be delivered by the end of the week. Plus he expected a few things from his parents as well; he knew they wouldn’t be able to resist sending something.

They had watched a movie, with a pizza and a six-pack of beer between them. Dan had enjoyed himself, he thought Aaron had too. They were going to get along fine, they probably weren’t going to be best friends, but would get along good enough to be roommates. Dan had mostly unpacked his room as well. He had picked up a desk lamp; he’d probably get some cool looking string lights to put along the window, for some softer lighting. He was unsure about getting more pillows, but had gotten that blanket he wanted. He knew he had a few days before classes started to monitor the bed comfort level.

Turning the lamp on, the overhead light on, Dan grabs his computer before lying down on the bed. He wanted to see if Jev had written anything. Plus he wanted look up an for an event tomorrow; he had briefly seen something cool in his email in the morning. Shifting on the bed while his computer started up, Dan decided he did want at least one more regular pillow and maybe a body pillow. While he was tall and the bed was a single, he did want to be comfortable.

Opening up the browser, Dan quickly typed facebook into the bar. There was a red 2 in the message part of the notifications. Anxiously Dan clicks it, he saw one was from his older sister, saying that their mom was already saying how much she missed having Dan around the house. The second was from Jev. Dated from earlier in the day. Dan had wanted to get a UK cell phone, which had been in the plans for today, but he had forgotten, he’d had so much fun with Aaron that he’d forgotten. Same with a bank account, that’d have to be fixed soon Dan thought.

Dan opens the message up. Just like the old Jev, it was very longwinded. Dan dove in, he wanted to get this figured out. “Nice to hear from you, Daniel. I realize that it’s been a long time since we’ve talked to each other. Mostly that was my fault for not communicating what was going on in my life so long ago. Many days I thought about what to say to you, if we were ever to see each other again. 

It is hard for me to admit that I was a coward then, and was a coward afterwards. I was curious so I looked you up on facebook, found you, but didn’t know what to say. You were my best friend, but I also had a little bit of a crush on you. At that time I did not know who I was. I know who I am now; I am more comfortable with myself now. I hope you can say the same about yourself. I admit that I looked at your facebook page every so often, to check up on you, to see if I had gotten the courage up to message you.

You still have that big smile and hair too. I’m sure your laugh is just as big as it was when we were younger. When I saw your post in the students group I was scared, but elated at the possibility that we would be around each other again. I have a few things to do tomorrow. But the next day, Wednesday, I’m going to get a new phone. I’m sure you haven’t gotten one yet, would you like to go with me? There’s no pressure, you’re probably just as nervous as I am. Let me know, by tomorrow afternoon. I am in Wolff dorm, so if you do let me know, we’ll be able to meet nearby. It’s hard to put into words how much I’ve missed your company.”

Dan didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry. Jev sounded so Jev; annoyingly formal, but still funny. Dan also thought that Jev sounded a little self-conscious. Clicking through to the other man’s profile, Dan went through Jev’s profile pictures again, just like he had the night before. Jev looked good, he had gotten thin for a while, but looked healthier now. Dan could still see some of that year four in him. From Jev’s words, it sounds like he had gone through what was public on Dan’s profile enough to come to some conclusions of his own.

Opening up a tab to find that email he was looking for, Dan wanted to compose his thoughts before responding. He had a huge bag of school supplies on his desk, rifling through for a pack of pens and a notepad, Dan realized he should just respond how he felt. Jev obviously had. Even if the message was super long, he had been honest. There was nothing wrong with that. Writing down the time and meeting place, Dan stuck it to the campus map. Aaron had said the third of their six flat mates was going to show up in time for that event tomorrow, so they’d all go together. Setting those things on the edge of his desk, Dan moved back to the bed.

Dan goes back to the facebook tab. “I’ve missed you too. I was scared and a little hurt to look for you on social media. On that day you kissed me, I wasn’t hurt. It made me realize I cared more about you than a friend. But then you moved. Hopefully being at the same school can help us at least become friends like we once were. My last relationship broke apart because I was moving here. But you probably saw that on facebook. I have one thing to do tomorrow, but I am free on Wednesday as well. I would love to hang out with you. As long as we can do lunch? I’m sure you remember how much I love to eat. Let’s meet by the benches at say 11? Let me know if that time is good for you. I appreciate your honesty in your message. It takes a lot for anyone to say what you’ve said. Thank you.”

Hitting send, Dan puts his computer to sleep. He’d picked up a paperback at one of the shops he and Aaron had been to that day. He wanted to read a bit to calm down from the day. Seeing that message was a perfect ending. Dan finally had the beginning of an answer to what had gone on that day so long ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll wrap this up with another chapter. It wouldn't feel right to me to end it where it is now, without a teeny bit more closure. Again, I'm glad you guys have liked it so far.


	4. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THEY FINALLY HANG OUT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok last chapter. I wrap things up and I hope you guys like the ending. Sorry for a bit of a gap between updates. I was doing job applications/phone interviews.

Dan was nervous, so nervous. He had spent most of Tuesday worrying that Jev would walk away, even after the messages they had exchanged on facebook. He’d had fun with his roommates the day before, which thankfully had caused him to sleep through the night. The nerves hadn’t hit until he started to get ready.

“Does this look fine?” Dan had asked Aaron. “You got a date or something?” Aaron smiled, before quickly apologizing once he saw Dan’s face. “Kind of. I’m meeting someone who’s a freshman here as well, we were best friends for some of primary school.” Dan leaves out that it’s a guy on purpose, since they were all still feeling each other out as roommates.

“That’s really cool! Here, let me fix your collar.” Aaron gets up from the couch as Dan puts his wallet in his back pocket. “I’m also getting a phone this afternoon finally, so you guys won’t have to worry about losing me when we go out.” Dan knows his roommates will be happy about that; he’d almost been left when they were out yesterday afternoon. “Ok, turn around.” Aaron looks Dan up and down. “You look fine. Got your keys and ID?” Dan swallows hard and nods. “Ok go get ‘em champ.” Aaron pats Dan on the shoulder before walking back to the couch. They’d finally got the living room set up the night before.

Dan checks his watch one last time before going out the door. It was 10:50, just enough time to get downstairs and outside to meet Jev. Going down the stairs out the door, Dan can see a man that looks like Jev would from behind standing, almost swaying while looking around. The man turns around at the sound of Dan’s steps and smiles, it is Jev. Dan smiles back, almost instantly knowing and feeling that things are going to be fine. No matter what happens. It’s the same feeling he had when he was younger. They both speed up towards each other and go in for a hug. Both of them are almost the same height, but Dan’s arms are the ones that go under Jev’s.

“It’s so nice to see you in person.” Jev says to Dan’s forehead before pulling back. “Are you as nervous as I am?” Jev laughs as he says this. Dan smiles at this. “Yeah, there’s a lot for us to catch up on. So much has happened. How do you like it here, how many roommates do you have?” Dan knows he’s talking too much, but can’t help it. Now he’s getting excited.

Jev laughs again as he puts his hands in his pockets before responding. “You still run a mile a minute when talking, huh? I like it here so far; it’s only been a few days. I have three roommates; we got lucky and got into one of the smaller flats. A lot has happened. Let’s get going, you have a transit pass? Let’s catch the next bus.” During this, Dan gets a bit of a look at Jev, he’s wearing jeans and a navy long sleeve polo, since it was overcast and a little windy. What’s nice is that Dan’s picked out a similar outfit, except his top is a different color. They’d done that a lot when they were younger as well. Walking to the bus stop, they fall almost instaneously into their old habits, laughing, bumping shoulders.

They had lunch at a place that Jev had been to a few times in the past, Jev showed him photos of his parents. Dan hadn’t really thought about Jev’s parents. Jev’s mom had always been wonderful to him, but his dad had been busy and Dan didn’t really remember him. They conversation throughout lunch had been so easy, just like it had been in the past. 

“There’s a phone place about 10 minutes away.” Jev puts his arm around Dan’s shoulders while walk. Dan leans in a little bit. “It’s almost like we never stopped talking.” Dan turns a little to look at Jev’s face. “Some of that is my fault. But we’re here now.” Jev smiles again. “Here we are.” Jev removes his arm from Dan’s shoulders and opens the door to the store. Dan had an idea for what he wanted and didn’t want to spend too much; he knew he needed insurance, as he was a little clumsy. It seems like Jev had the same idea, so thankfully checking out didn’t take that long, so they were in and out in almost 30 minutes.

Jev starts to walk down the sidewalk before sensing that Dan wasn’t next to him. Turning back to look at Dan, Jev raises his eyebrows. Dan walks the few steps to catch up to Jev “You look really good. I was looking at your photos online, and you look so much better now.” Dan smiles shyly.

“I was angry at some things in my life, and ended up taking it out on myself. Thankfully I got some help before it got worse.” Jev once again puts his arms around Dan’s shoulders. They walked liked that the rest of the afternoon, when they weren’t inside shops, doing a bit of light shopping. Dan had wanted to get a few more things before the start of classes, and Jev was patient while watching Dan try on some clothing.

“You want to come back to my place and watch a movie, or something? My roommates won’t be back until after midnight, I let them know there was a possibility I might not be going out with.” Jev asks as they walk towards one of the bus stops that would take them back to campus from the center of town. “I’d love that, as long as I can drop my bags off before then. I’ll show you my room. I don’t know if anyone of my roommates will be there.” Dan looks down and smiles before looking at Jev. There wasn’t anyone at the bus stop so they set their bags on the bench but still stand. Dan goes to hug Jev again.

“I’ve missed you so much and I didn’t realize how much before now.” Dan says as they hug. Jev lets out a small sigh. “I’ve missed you too.” Jev replies. “Hey, Dan.” Jev pulls back. “Yeah?” Dan looks at Jev who is nervously biting his lip. “Come closer.” Jev says before he leans in. Dan had not thought about this, but kissing Jev was exactly what he wanted to do at this moment. It was sweet and warm, but almost chaste. Jev pulls back first and looks down the street, “Here’s our bus.”


End file.
